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Have you read a good book lately?  Have you taken any time for yourself at all? Be honest.  I won’t be surprised if the answer is “no.”

Somehow, despite the best intentions each year, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day just gets away from us. The holidays. They can get us every year. Between the actual obligations we have and the pressure we put on ourselves to do it all at this time of year -- it's enough to completely stress one out!  

After New Year’s Day, “real” life starts again and we often find that we accomplished less over the holidays than we wanted. Or, than we thought. And all those little things we planned to do for ourselves most likely never got done. Am I right? I have a suggestion for you. Before getting yourself back into the daily grind this New Year, stop.  That’s right, stop. Take a moment today.  Just for you.  What do you want to do? Read a book? See a movie? Start a scrapbook? Meet a friend for coffee? Do it.

It's like what the airlines always say before takeoff: put your oxygen mask on yourself first before assisting another.  If you aren't taking care of yourself, then it is awfully hard to take care of anyone else. In order to keep going, you need to take some time for yourself.  

So, how to do that?  

If the idea of taking 30 or 60 minutes away from your responsibilities overwhelms you, start small. Maybe it's five to 10 minutes.  Maybe it's a walk to the post office to mail the holiday thank-you notes. Maybe it's doing an extra load of dishes so you can be alone for a few minutes later.  Maybe it's shoveling the front path so you can get out of the house and have a moment to think.  Regardless of what it is, stop today and do it. You owe it to yourself.

Once you have mastered taking a few minutes for yourself, start adding to it every week. Pretty soon, you will relish the time you have for yourself, and can work up seeing that movie or meeting a special friend for coffee. Others will notice, too. The good that you do for yourself will spill over into the new year.  

Happy New Year!  It's going to be a wonderful one!

Dr. Elizabeth Ricanati is the mother of three children and founding medical director of The Cleveland Clinic's LifeStyle 180 program.  She is a regular columnist for ShareWIK.com 

More Dr. Elizabeth Ricanati articles, click here. 

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